Sugar Free Banana Muffins.....

 I got the recipe from here.  I had bought a bag of over ripe bananas so as we were plowing through them I figured I would use some of them in a muffin recipe to go with our morning coffee.  Now, I did replace 1/2 cup of flour with oats.  I would like even more oats in it, but not sure how that would affect the recipe?  I did sprinkle some regular sugar on the top, more for appearance than anything, as they were plenty sweet enough.

I made 6 larger muffins and baked them for 35 to 40 minutes.  Will make them again.  Super easy recipe.  I guess you could also add nuts to the recipe if you wanted to?

I got the strawberry tidbit plates from Kitchen Stuff Plus a couple of summer's ago, they are melamine and are perfect for a cookie, or a small treat.  

Then while I was in the kitchen I washed out the cutlery drawer and sorted it all out again.  The gap on the right hand side is where my knives are kept, I washed the holder and was waiting for it to dry.  Ever since I lined my drawers with the drawer liners, it has made it so much easier to keep them clean.  

I also washed out the under sink cupboard and straightened all that out.  I think I need to do a drawer or cupboard per day while making supper, as that way it's not a huge chore all at once?

I love it when I can get a couple of jobs done while doing other things!!  Now to tackle the fridge this week and strip that right down!

No before's, but plenty of after's!

We finally got the front hall closet finished.  It's all freshly painted and we redid the interior as the existing closet shelves, did not make the most of the space.

First we purchased a ClosetMaid 7-ft to 10-ft White Adjustable Mount Wire Shelving Kit from Lowes.  They are available in other places and you can find other brands that are similar.  We priced out what we would need and this kit worked out much cheaper than individual pieces.  With taxes this worked out to be $247.47.  We bought an additional $113.11 in individual pieces, so in total this whole project cost $360.58.  

We normally buy our closet organizer's from the Solutions store, but they have closed a number of stores down, I am assuming due to the pandemic and our closest store is a good 90 minutes away.  Plus it would have cost twice as much as this one from Lowes and we would have had to order it.

So now for the photos.

This first photo, show's the front hall closet.  There are 9 foot ceilings here and full mirrored doors that are both are curse and a blessing.  They are great that they reflect so much light into the main floor rooms.  They are a curse when small children put their sticky fingers and faces all over them!  However we are winning the battle with small children and only have one more to go who will do that!

This side of the closet is a little over 36 inches wide.  The kit came with 12 inch deep shelves.  We ended up purchasing a 16 inch deep shelf for the lower of the two shelves to make it work better for us.  This part is the same as the old configuration.

Now on this side is where the biggest change has been.  These shelves are only 17 inches wide.  Originally there was only the top shelf with some hooks underneath and the two shoe shelves at the bottom.

With adding all those extra shelves it has made a world of difference.

All our winter hats, scarves and gloves are in individual plastic shoe boxes I have used these for a while and they are a perfect way of storing these items.  I have ran out of labels, but I need to add more labels to make it easier to see whose items are in which box.  I bought mine at Walmart, but I couldn't find them online, but here are some.  Not sure if the dollar stores sell them, which would be cheaper.

I am missing a couple of things for the closet.  I have put up a couple of Command Hooks for a couple of dh's baseball caps, but need to find a Baseball Cap Holder like this one.  I also need to find another boot tray for under the shorter shelves to put there for winter.

Overall very happy with the results of this project and it's something that will last for years.

Random thoughts and things......

I am going to do one of these blog posts each week, because sometimes things you want to say don't justify a full blog post.

This is what I wrote on my chalk board for January (all  my own words):

Friday was one of those days when you go outside and if you have any moisture in your nose it freezes; today will not be much better.  You have to warm up your car before going anywhere.  We are lucky here in Southern Ontario that we don't have to plug in our cars at night, like they do in the Prairies and Northern Ontario, as it's even colder there.

Due to the extreme cold temperatures my walking has been very little this week.........me and the treadmill must get better acquainted!!

Cutting things out of your diet which you love sucks...........just saying.........which in turn makes grocery shopping a pain in the butt........it'll get easier I guess?

Roll on the end of the month when I see the specialist and I can have a colonoscopy and get a good clean out😎  Not many people say that I'm sure!!!

Saw this post over at Lazy Daisy Jones where other bloggers give you their blogging tips, well worth the read.

Need to devote an afternoon to going through this, as I am a bit like what that image is at the moment😏

(image credit)

Quick baby gifts..........

I am seeing a friend of a friend's baby girl for the first time later in the month; and although I bought her some outfits when she was born, I wanted to make something little for her.  She will be four months old when I see her so I decided to make her a mini Crinkle Ribbon Mat and Cloth Baby Rings for her.

Below is the finished project.

The Crinkle Ribbon Mat was from this pattern.  

You need:
2 x 12 inch square's of fabric
1 x "Crinkle" material, now I used a piece of plastic silver tissue.........you find it where you get tissue paper in stores.  Or use the inside plastic wrapping from a cereal package.  As long as it's clean and makes a "crinkly" noise.
16 pieces ribbon, 5 inches each in length
thread and other basic sewing supplies

Pin all the pieces of ribbon to the material (as pictured) and then baste onto fabric using a long stitch on your sewing machine.  Remove pins. 

Place the other material you are using face down as pictured. 

 Then add crinkle material on top pin and sew all around the edges, using a 1/4 inch seam.  Leave a 3 inch gap so you can turn everything right sides out.

 Turn right sound out, clipping corners and then top stitch all the way round the edge, closing off the gap.  You are done!!!

This is washable, I probably wouldn't dry it in the dryer, and if using an iron use a low heat so you don't melt the crinkle material.

I used two fat quarters of material, and had plenty left over.  So decided to make a set of Baby Cloth Rings, using these instructions.  

***A WORD OF WARNING IF YOU DO NOT LIKE SEWING FIDDLY THINGS, DO NOT TOUCH THIS PROJECT...................RUN FAR, FAR AWAY FROM IT 😊***

I have been sewing Barbie clothes so am used to fiddly things, but these even tried my patience!!

A bit of a head's up if you are from Canada.  Fabricland sells small craft bags, mine for 50 cents each that have odds and ends of fabric, trim and beads, like this one.

All the ribbon on the crinkle mat was from these bags.  I also used a lot from the 10 bags I bought for all the Barbie Doll clothes I made.  If you need little bits of trim without having to buy a full roll this is the way to go.  

In other countries I am sure your fabric/craft stores have these sort of bags as well.

The fabric I used is Wildwood by Dear Stella, it is hard to find, but you can find it here.

Bits and Bobs

When we were away I picked up a couple of business cards of places/sites I wanted to visit online when we got back home.

Saw this woman at a Sunday market; P.Carter Carpin

It was the bright colours that first caught my eye, but I loved the name banners.  They are made with felted wool, which is something I would like to try.  The link to this lady's Etsy store is above.

King William Alpacas was also at this same market.  Not the Alpacas but their human owners!!!  I hummed and haa-ed over their yarn as it was to die for but ultimately I didn't buy any, which was a mistake on my part, and I am sad that I didn't.   They did say if you call first to make arrangements they will show you the alpacas, which I thought was nice.  Here is one of their Alpacas Flash:

You can buy yarn from Flash's coat here:

One store I sought out while in Williamsburg was The Spice and Tea Exchange.  That was a store for all your senses to drink in.  It was a delight and the lady that was working that day was a joy to deal with.  We picked up some spices as a gift for someone and it included their own Signature Spice Blend.

Everywhere you turned though there was something new to see and look at.  If you are in the area you should check out these places.

Reading and reviewing books.............

I have been catching up on my reading since we got back.  I had three books to read and review.  All were good in very different ways.

The first All Saints was about the Karen people from Burma who came to live in Tennessee and how they helped revive The All Saints church in a small community.  Very interesting and I learned something new.  You can read my review here.

The second book I reviewed was Gracelaced and you can read my review here.  What attracted me to this book was the artwork and photography, as it is gorgeous.  However once you start reading the book it's words make you think and reflect and that in itself is just as lovely.  Ruth Chou Simmons, has a lovely website and blog with many other things on it and it is well worth a look: Gracelaced  I would love to have some of her art work hanging on our home walls.

The last book I read was a Lauraine Snelling book.  I enjoy her books and did enjoy the detail of day to day life in this book.  This was a book about Norwegians emigrating to America and the hardships they endured.  You can read my review here.

I do try to read at least two books a month.  I don't review them all; although I know I should.  Not sure about you but I tend to go through phases of reading about one particular subject all the time, then never pick up that subject for ages?

All the books I reviewed here are from a company called Graff Martin and I have been reviewing for them for a number of years now.

Are you a reader?  I have another blog specifically for reviewing books: That British Woman's Book Review Blog; please feel free to check it out. Thanks 😊😊😊😊

They let us in AGAIN!!!

Yup, we are on vacation in the States.  This time in the state of Virginia.

We visited a Farmer's Market and as always it was very interesting.

One stall sold mushrooms.  The two bags at the back and the two bags at the front were Lion's Mane Mushrooms. There seems to be two spellings for that mushroom Mane and Maine.  They were selling for $10 USD a bag.  If I remember rightly she said they tasted like crab?  They have a website called Steve Haas Mushrooms.  Never saw Steve, just a lady.

There was a stall that just sold Orchids.  This one is a deciduous one and a rarer colour.  As I pointed out to dh, "this one drops it leaves on purpose, unlike mine!"  Mine drops it leaves through lack of attention!

Sunflowers are "happy" flowers don't you think?

More lovely flowers. 

Didn't buy anything, but did enjoy the market and the lovely weather.

Hanging in there like a bad smell........

me being sick that is.  I don't know what I have got but I am so over it.  I finally had a little bit of energy yesterday morning, so did some more priming down stairs.  Even swept out the garage, but all that ended up doing was making me more tired than ever.  I spent half an hour down the stairs this morning, finishing off the priming, so at least it's all done now.  Not planning on doing much more today than just the odd job or two that needs doing.

Dh is off on Friday for Canada Day, so our plan of action is for me to cut in and him to paint two of the rooms ceilings down there.  The ceilings are the hardest job for me.

Had a question for any of the gardeners out there.  My tomatoes have black bottoms, do you know what causes that and how I can prevent that from happening?  None are ripe yet, and none will be edible if they have black bottoms.

Look at this link  you will not believe the devastation this caused.  They were lucky more lives were not lost.

Then there was this in Instanbul, what on earth is going on in the world?

Off to read a book, as I am pooped..........have a good one.

Busy week ahead of us..........

Our daughter will be having her baby girl......finally!!!

Going to spend Tuesday doing a big batch cook for both ourselves and our daughter and family.  She found having meals on hand, just waiting to be heated up after having Our Little Munchkin was the best thing.

Having a wheat free diet seems to be the latest thing out there.  I thought this looked interesting and have signed up.

My pot of knitted hexagons is getting fuller and brighter!

Made this elephant for Our Little Princess:

 Haven't seen Our Little Princess and family for a couple of weeks, need to fit in a visit with them sometime.

Then The Lakeside Yarn Crawl starts on June 18th.

You can read more about that here.

Be back later in the week.

2016 The International Year of Pulses

"Pulses are part of the legume family, but the term “pulse” refers only to the dried seed. Dried peas, edible beans, lentils and chickpeas are the most common varieties of pulses."

(credit to: Pulse Canada dot com for the above quote)

I stumbled upon this as I have been picking up my neighbours newspaper while they have been away.  It's The Globe and Mail, a bit too highbrow for me, but it has a Sudoku, so I am not going to turn it down, as I love doing the Sudoku's; keep's the brain ticking over.

Anyhoo, I digress.  In Wednesday's paper there was an article about this "newest" food trend.  I read the article with interest, as I don't mind pulses; I don't use them much but with the price of food increasing by the second they are a good cheap alternate to some other foods.  Plus they are good for you.  It also helps that The UN had declared 2016 The International Year of the Pulses.

Not only is there an article in the Globe and Mail, but CBC News has it's own article here.  Canadian Chef Michael Smith is spearheading the campaign, at least in Canada, for us all to eat more pulses, and there is even a website for us to sign up to pledge we will eat half a cup of pulses per week for ten weeks. www.pulsepledge.com    I must say after looking around the site there are some yummy recipes on there that pretty easy to make.  One of my favourites and one I think I may make next week was Bean Lasagna.

If you have just over six minutes to spare you may want to listen to this recording of Chef Michael Smith talking about how good pulses are for you.

A couple of facts about pulses:

Pulses have twice as much protein as whole grains such as wheat, barley or rice. 

Pulses are high in fibre, which helps decrease and control cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Pulses are also high in B-vitamins, and key minerals including iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc.

I have posted a couple recipes over the years on my blog that include pulses.  One of my favourites is Lentil Stew.  Not only is it vegetarian it is also vegan. 

Then there is my "famous" Baked Bean Lasagna  This was one of the first recipes I posted back in 2008, when I first started my blog.  Mark's and Spencer recipe that I have been making for years.

I also posted a 50 + 1 recipes for Chickpeas here, I do not know if all the links work though.

Plus a 50 + 1 recipe for Kidney Beans.  Now when I do my menu plan for next week, I am going to include at least one meal that has some sort of pulse in it.

Do you eat a lot of pulses in your house?

Grocery Shopping......

I hit three stores on Sunday to do my grocery shopping.  I ended up spending $89.21 and had $23.80 in savings.  My best deal was the photo below.  This was done at Sobeys where the salad, french fries and canned veggies were all buy one get one free.  I had a coupon for the sour cream, which made that 99 cents.  I also had $5 worth of Sobeys points saved up, so after cashing them in that little lot cost me $1.26

I did buy a few none food items, which also included two packs of 24 double roll toilet paper that was on sale at Canadian Tire for $9.99 a package, plus I had a $1.25 coupon when you bought two.  So technically I bought 96 single rolls of toilet paper!!!  Guess we'll be fine for toilet paper for a while.

I have updated my grocery total for the month on the side bar.

I got my May 2013 Easy Cook magazine in the mail on Monday and saw an advert for this:

It's a Spaghetti Measure Book.  Each page has a mouth-sized hole that represents a number of options from 1 - 4, so you can measure out just what you need.  Thought it was fun.  if you search Spaghetti Measure Book, it will come up with where you can find it.  I have a Tupperware container for my spaghetti like this one and it has a lid inside that lets you measure out one of two portions at a time.

Lots of links for everyone in today's post.....

On Sunday I decided to take advantage of it being cheap hydro/electric rates all day and do some cooking.  I needed to do something with the nearly 8 lbs of ground/minced beef I bought on Friday, so thought I'd make some Yorkshire Cornish Pasties.  Cornish Pasties are made with stewing steak, Yorkshire Cornish Pasties are made with ground/minced beef.

Here is the recipe:

Yorkshire Cornish Pasties

8 oz Shortcrust Pastry
8 oz Minced/ground beef
8 oz chopped/diced potato, onion and carrot
1 tsp salt/pepper mix (recipe to follow)

Combine filling ingredients.  Roll out pastry and cut into 6 or 8 inch rounds.  Place filling down the centre of the pastry and dampen the edges with water and bring sides to centre  and pinch together, with fingers and thumb (see photo).  Brush with beaten egg and place on a greased baking tray and bake in a moderately hot oven 400 oF or 200 oC for around 40 minutes.  Lowering the heat if browning too much.  ***The Recipe is a Keeper!!***

Dorothy Sleightholme's Salt and Pepper Mix: For seasoning, mix 3 teaspoons of salt to 1 teaspoon of ground pepper.  Mix well together and keep in screw-top or sprinkler top jar.

I doubled the recipe and I made 9 pasties using a 5 1/2 inch saucer to cut out the pastry circles.  I had a bit of filling left over which I put in a Ziploc bag and froze for another day.  The recipe is from a book I have had for donkey's years called "The Complete Farmhouse Kitchen Cook Book," from Yorkshire Television.  There was a television programme that went along with this book, I found a You Tube Clip here.

I had a little pastry left over so I made some jam tarts in a mini cupcake pan

We had some warm for lunch and then again for supper, with mashed potatoes, gravy and broccoli.  The last three I popped into the freezer for another meal.

Also made a batch of choc-chip cookies for dh and at the bottom of the photo is the jam tarts I made.

One of my new to me kitchen finds which I love are these cutting boards.  They are very thin and very flexible and have pictures on them so you can use them just for veggies, meat or fish.  I got them from here and I picked up three sets, as I am giving a set each to two people for Christmas!! (The one on the top is dirty, as I was using it!)

At the end of my cooking session, I had seven 12oz bags of browned and drained ground/minced beef and onions all ready to go in the freezer.  Two more meals of pasties for the freezer; a batch of meat pasta sauce which will do two meals. I thought of having part of the sauce with pasta and the rest use to make some calzones using this recipe.  I have never made them before?  I cooked enough potatoes on Sunday night to put another meals worth in the freezer as well.

I posted a book review on the book, "A Year of Biblical Womanhood," by Rachel Held Evans here if you are interested.

There are a lot of links in today's post isn't there?

It's surprising what I can fit in my car.....

Here is the chair out of the car:

Paid $48 (around 30 British Pounds) for it at the charity shop I go to in Stayner.  I had the second winning bid on some Cornflower glass pieces, so went to pick them up.  However when I saw the pieces I decided to pass, they were not as old as I thought.  I had seen this chair the other week I was in and it had been over $80 and each week they reduce the price.  So I figured for $48 I couldn't go wrong.  It needs a good clean, but overall it's in good condition.

I love the town of Stayner everyone is so friendly and very willing to help you.  It has a small town feel about it which I love.  I could see ourselves living there; the weather sucks there in the winter though.

This week's "Home of the Week," is nice, don't love it, but don't hate it.  It's missing something, not sure what?  Does anyone else feel that way?  I do like the art work above the fireplace in the living room and master bedroom, so if I did love it and have the $1 million to buy it I would ask for that artwork with the house!!!

The "Condo of the Week," is very nice if you like living 38 floors up in the sky, and have $1.3 million spare to pay for it, and can afford the nearly $3,000 a month maintenance fees!  You will need buy a pair of fluffy slippers as there are only tile and wood floors in the place, so it will be cold in winter, unless they have under floor heating throughout the place?  The views from the windows must be great, just a shame I am afraid of heights!

I am posting a link to an old post, as I made Dulche de Leche overnight in the crockpot.

Home of the week and some blog/site links you may enjoy........

I am confused by this weeks "Home of the Week."  On one hand it's a lovely house, but what has happened to the soul of it?  All painted white I'm guessing?  I do love the wallpaper on the stairs though and think that's a great idea; half wood and half wall paper.  Flipping expensive though?

I wish I had the $2.7 million to pay for this week's "Cottage of the Week."  Granted it's a bit big, well a lot big, but it would be a fun place to have the kids and grand kids over.  The one thing I would do though is get rid of the carpets in the kitchen, not a fan of those.  However do love those huge wide floor boards throughout the property.  Even the pirate ship is neat.

Well once again another property, this time a condo, where the owner is allergic to colour!!  At $950,000 this is one pricey "Condo of the Week."  Will say that is a nice terrace and great views.  Otherwise, I will pass!!

If you're looking for a different type of salad, this lady has a lot to choose from:

http://edibletulip.typepad.com/

Lots of great links and yummy recipes here:

http://www.foodinthehills.ca/

Go to the gallery of this one to see some cute (but expensive) things

http://nestinghabits.ca/Home_Page.html

Thinking about surprising dh with a meal at this place: 

http://spirittreecider.com/spirit-tree-estate/about-us.html

I am dying to buy some of this shortbread.

Bit of this and a bit of that........

John over at Tok Tok Place had a neat quiz about what sort of blogger are you. here are my results:


 

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And you make it as entertaining as possible. You may be guilty of over-sharing a bit on your blog, but you can't help it. Your life is truly an open book. Or in this case, an open blog!

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Got an email from Kraft in my inbox, and had a peek.  Saw this neat section regarding 5 dinner's in one bag: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/dinner/1bag5dinners/main.aspx?cm_mmc=eml-_-mtdce-_-2011-_-4005 thought there were some neat recipes there.


On Thursday while in town I popped into Zehrs and picked up some reduced meat and bread. I got three loaves of bread, 20 dinner rolls, a garlic bread baguette, four packages of English Bangers and two packages of lean ground beef; it came to $26 and change.

With one package of sausage I made my Sausage Risotto which we love.

The recipe is from this book.

The ground beef, I browned in a pan with some chopped up onions, drain and then freeze in portions in the freezer.

I have seen other people do this, but never done it myself.  Figured it would save a step when pulling the ground beef out of the freezer.

Flipping Heck and Mother Earth News........

My car is not well {SIGH}.  It stalled on me a couple of times on Friday and when I turned the key in the ignition on Saturday nothing happened, tried again nothing happened, tried again and it ran.  Dh of course doesn't want me going out in it in case I break down.  So I need to make an appointment to take it into the garage this week {{SIGH}}  Fingers, toes and everything crossed that I don't have to take out a second mortgage to pay for the repairs {{{SIGH}}}

I just received the April/May 2012 issue of the Mother Earth News and there were some interesting articles and links in there. Including a competition to win a Heifer and Chicken Coop amongst the package, unfortunately it's for only people in the States.


Eden Foods, not only sell a variety of products but they have a whole section of recipes, which include Gluten Free, Vegetarian and Vegan.


Barn Light Electric sells the neatest lights and ones that are functional without being too crazy looking.  I love this milk glass pendant.


There was an article that featured "The Happy Homesteader," blog that is really well worth checking out.  This couple live in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado on 11 acres and they have four German Shepherd dogs.


Looking for a different type of house to live in?  Well maybe this is for you.  Not sure how much they cost and how feasible it would be to live in one, but I guess it would get the neighbours talking.

Lots of links from my area.......

I have never been to the South Simcoe Railway, but I think it would be a fun day out.  I have actually never had a good look around Tottenham either, so I think we will have to do that as well.

I stumbled upon an article about a couple of "Coffee Table" books about Abandoned Buildings in Ontario and they have a site here  There are some really neat buildings out there.

I have mentioned this store before it's called Details and has all sorts of interesting things in it.  I love the furniture but it's very expensive.  The linens are really nice as well.

Laura Berry is a local artist and I love her work.  I love her painting "Hidden Retreat,"  Do you have a favourite.

In Beeton on May 26th there is the Beeton Honey and Garden Festival  They are having a recipe contest, where they are looking for recipes that use Honey in the ingredients.  Honey is not something I use very often in cooking, do you?

I also read about a Dairy Farm that is opening a store in June, which includes whole milk and cheese.  I can see a trip will be in store to visit Sheldon Creek Dairy as I love cheese and supporting a local up and coming company is a good thing.

Home of the week and lots of sewing links.....

This weeks home of the week is a stunner, I could even live with all the furnishings if I had too, well minus all the little kids stuff, as we don't have any little kids around.  The only thing other than the price that lets this place down is the back yard, it's not very big and very over looked, if I was paying that price I would expect a lot more privacy.


The condo of the week, is not my cup of tea, although in a very desirable area, look at the monthly maintenance fees...........way, way over priced.  Very limited photos, so have no idea what half of the place actually looks like?


I get Sew News magazine, the kids got it for me as a birthday gift a couple of years ago.   I was reading the April/May 2012 issue the other night and it had some really neat things in it.  One thing they features were Comfort Dolls, they are handmade dolls people make for domestic abuse victims in the States, here is a link to the blog  I wonder if we have such a thing in Canada, or is there something similar in other parts of the world?


They also provide a link to an article on how to make a waterproof raincoat out of a shower curtain.......yes a shower curtain.  It actually looks really neat!!  They also feature a how too from Sew It All where you collect thread and other odds and ends from your sewing room and make a bowl.  There is obviously a few other steps but it really looks neat, the link to that is here.

Are you looking for Applique's?  Here is a link to some free applique's, there are many more that you can buy.  Even though Sew News is an American Magazine, I see there is an advert for the Creativ Festival here in Mississauga in April.  Dd and I plan on going in April, I haven't got the tickets yet, hoping to find a good discount code.........haven't yet.  Is anyone going?

For those creative types out there, here is a link to a competition that is open to everyone around the world.  It's the 2012 Tea Cozy competition and entries must be received by June 30th, 2012.  Click on the link to find out the contest details and rules.  Let us all know if you do decide to enter.

Busy, busy, busy...........with photos....

I spent the day in the garden on Wednesday on my "day off."  I got a couple of jobs crossed off my list, but the jobs on my list is still a mile long.  I did however get the annuals planted in pots.  I even bought a couple of window boxes full of plants this year.

We bought a new to us "toy" on the weekend a wood chipper.  We got it through Kijiji and paid $400; it sells in Canadian Tire for around $1,000, so we were pleased with the price.  Dh is enjoying using it and has been making lots of wood chips/mulch for the garden. 

So I spent part of the morning putting mulch around some trees and bushes.  As you can see by the photo below we have a lot of branches still to shred.  You will also be pleased to know that I can't start it, and dh doesn't want me doing it.........which means one less job for me...YEAH!!!

In the afternoon I spend a while hauling more branches up from the bottom of Kamikaze Hill to the top.  Also picking up some logs from the trees dh has been trimming.  That was hard sweaty work, even with using the tractor and trailer.  I also finally got the field cut again, this will be the third time it has been cut in the past five days.  I did a double cut the first time, as it was so long and I have just finished doing it again.  I have more or less got caught up with cutting the grass, which is just as well as we are forecast for rain AGAIN!!

I saw the following story about solar highways in an email I received and thought you may be interested:

http://www.wimp.com/solarhighways

As I write this on Wednesday night I am just so tired so haven't had an opportunity to visit anyone's blog.  My apologies for that; but I just don't have the energy.   I hope to catch up with you all over the next few days.......